Young Heroes Oneshots
by Lara-Van
Summary: Just a random collection of semi-related oneshots featuring Power Girl, Supergirl, Nightwing, and others.
1. The Karas

**Okay, this was originally published as "Secrets At Metropolis High," but I had no plot for that, so I just turned it into a series of slightly related oneshots. And yes, I know that Power Girl is older than Supergirl. It's just really, really AU and makes no little sense with any kind of continuity. That whole posing-as-twins thing just randomly popped into my head for no reason.**

**--**

The wind whistled through Metropolis's skyscrapers, building into fierce howling gusts. The clouds hung low, a pearly gray that, along with the humidity in the cool air, promised rain later. It was late afternoon. A gust of wind swept across the rooftop basketball court that crowned Metropolis High.

Karen Lee-Danvers gasped as the wind reached beneath her short brown wig and nearly lifted it off her head. She clapped her hands to her skull, keeping the wig firmly in place and promising herself that tomorrow she would pin it in place more tightly. The cheerleading team practicing down on the basketball court would certainly be very surprised if shy, geeky Karrie Danvers suddenly transformed into a bespectacled Powergirl right then and there.

She adjusted her thick-framed glasses and peered down at the fifteen girls dancing around in the silver and blue Met High cheerleading uniforms. Well, she mused, _fourteen_ of them would be surprised. Her "twin", Linda Lee-Danvers, would probably just roll her eyes. Typical Linda.

And speaking of Linda, Karen would have to ask her how she managed to keep her longer brunette wig secure. She seemed to be having no trouble at all, and she was doing _backflips_ down there! Karen sighed as she watched her "sister" leap off the top of a precariously stacked pyramid. Any normal girl wouldn't have been able to pull it off. Any normal girl would have fallen to the blacktop and shattered her spine. But Linda flipped gracefully- and certainly too slowly for her fall to be entirely natural- down into the waiting arms of two other members of the squad.

Some time later, Karen glanced up from the chemistry textbook she was reading at superspeed, and noticed that Linda and the other girls seemed to have wrapped things up. A large pack of blue-clad teenagers was making its way to the door to the stairwell off the roof. The only two who remained were Linda and a petit blonde named Courtney Whitmore.

Linda bounded up the bleachers to where Karen was stuffing her books into an overloaded backpack. "God, how are you _ever_ going to carry that?" she asked, tossing her false brunette hair back over her shoulders. Karen raised her eyebrows. "I think you _know_ how," she said softly, crushing two links in the chain-link fence behind her with one finger.

"I meant metaphorically. Duh I know _how_, but c'mon! You could do all that work in thirty seconds tomorrow morning. Why drag it home?" Linda said with a silvery laugh.

"I'm taking my homework home because that's what normal people do!" Karen protested. She couldn't help but grin at her sister's logic.

For two people who were supposed to be the _same_ person (albeit from different universes), the Karas- as they were affectionately known to most of the superhero community- were remarkably different. Linda was every bit as brash and overconfident in her secret identity as she was as Supergirl. On the other hand, Karen, though she put on an excellent show of courage and bravado as Power Girl, never tried to fool herself that it was anything but an act. In reality, she was as mild-mannered as their "cousin" Clark.

"Whatever. You wanna get out of here?" Linda asked. Karen nodded and turned toward the stairs. "Uh... Karrie? I didn't mean that way." When Karen turned back to her, Linda jerked her head off the edge of the roof.

Karen grinned. She _loved_ flying. Except... "Uh, Linda, we've still got company, in case you hadn't noticed. Your friend Courtney's still down there." She gestured at the blonde girl who was standing there with her arms crossed as if she were waiting for them to leave or something.

Linda glanced once at Courtney, then back at Karen. "I don't know what it is about Courtney and hanging out on rooftops. She needs to get over it. One of these days she's gonna get struck by lightning," she muttered. They sat down to wait her out.

Finally, it seemed, the cheerleader got tired of waiting for them to leave, and quit the roof, giving them death glares the whole way. Linda grinned at her and stuck out her tongue at the door to the stairwell as it swung shut behind her.

In a flash, Karen was on her feet. Less than a second later, she spun in a dizzying circle, visible only as a blur of rapidly-changing colors. Within moments, Karen Lee-Danvers was gone. In her place stood Power Girl. Linda crossed her arms and cocked her hip. "Show-off," she muttered.

Karen grinned at her. "It's your own fault you can't figure out how Kal does it. Maybe if you'd watch him a little more carefully, you wouldn't be stuck changing clothes in _phone booths_!"

Linda glared at her. "Oh come on. The phone booth trick is _so_ '70s Green Lantern! I mean, Hal Jordan was such a loser back then."

Karen raised an eyebrow. "And he's not now?" Linda laughed and slipped behind the bleachers. A moment later, she ducked back out again, now dressed in the short skirt, belly top, and bright red cape of Supergirl. "Alright, ready to go?" Karen asked. Linda nodded.

Pausing only to pick up her backpack and sling it over her shoulder, Power Girl took a running leap across the bleachers, over the chain link fence, and straight off the building. Supergirl was right behind her. The two teenagers launched themselves into the sky, becoming little more than a pair of blurs streaking through the maze of the Metropolis skyline.

Supergirl shot past a big corporate office owned by LexCorp, ensuring that her sonic boom shattered a row of windows. Power Girl raised her eyebrow as she glanced back at her sister. "Luthor's going to be pissed, you know," she called. Supergirl shrugged. "Like I care!"

Power Girl shook her head. Linda insisted on antagonizing Lex. Lex tended to have access to kryptonite. Linda was going to get herself killed over one of her stupid stunts one of these days. Violence and destruction of public property were_ so _not the answer here.

She angled up into the clouds, streaking higher and higher above the city, straight as an arrow, while Supergirl flitted in circles around her. After a few seconds in the thick woolly clouds, she broke through, trailing a stream of clouds behind her until her momentum propelled her beyond the residual moisture.

An instant later, Supergirl had also burst through the blanket of clouds. Together they spiralled higher, glorying in the feel of the sun on their skin. After a moment, Power Girl slowed, allowing herself to transform from a white blur to a clearly defined shape. She drifted above the clouds, leaning back so that she floated, hands crossed behind her head. Supergirl joined her, mimicking her pose.

The sisters glanced at each other. It was times like this when they could forget about losing Krypton, when Karen could forget about the destruction of her whole universe. They could just revel in the joy of being Kara, of just existing, up here where only a lucky few ever soared.

The sun beat down on them, and they were alone. Kal had his Fortress of Solitude. They had this place above the clouds. Sol might not be Rao, but it was every bit as deserving of worship. It gave them life, gave them the power to be here, to experience this.

Eventually, the sun sank below the clouds on the western horizon, and the Karas stood up in midair. Power Girl shrugged. "Well, I suppose we've got to go. Fred and Edna will be waiting. You know how pissed they get when we don't even bother to come home."

Supergirl gave her a cocky grin. "Yeah. They gave me hell when I spent a week in Japan last year. Didn't even bother to call to let them know where I was."

"Hang on... wasn't that the time a real-life Godzilla was trashing Tokyo?" Power Girl asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You were in a head-to-head battle with only Red Arrow for backup for _six days_. You didn't exactly have time to phone home."

"Ha ha. Nice E.T. reference. I _hate_ irony," Supergirl groaned.

"Then again, I guess you could've actually bothered to let Kal or the League know you needed backup. At the very least, you could've yelled or something. I'd have come to give you a hand."

"Oh _please_. If I can't handle one overgrown lizard by myself, what good _am_ I?"

"Um... as good as most of the League? I mean, I'd _love_ to see Black Canary take down that Godzilla impersonator by herself," Power Girl pointed out.

"Whatever," Supergirl muttered. "Hey, race you to Midvale!" And without a second thought, she flipped over in midair and streaked west, down through the thick layer of clouds.

"Oh no you don't!" Power Girl shrieked, chasing after her sister and giggling in delight. Linda might be reckless, she supposed, but she sure as hell knew how to have a good time.

--

**Chapter Two Featuring: Stargirl!**


	2. Stargirl

****

Courtney Whitmore growled in annoyance. Why couldn't Linda and her stupid sister just get the hell off the roof? They might be two of her closest friends, but that didn't mean they weren't totally selfish about roof space sometimes. She'd wanted to go flying, and there weren't many rooftops as good for a takeoff as Metropolis High's basketball court. And besides, Stargirl had been out of sight for a few days. It was time for her to go on patrol again. Oh well.

She hurried out of the school and down the front steps onto the sidewalk, then made her way down the street. After glancing around hurriedly to make sure no one was watching, she ducked into an alley. A few minutes later, she shot upward out of the alley, dressed as Stargirl and clutching the Cosmic Staff tightly in her right hand.

--

Courtney heard sirens in the distance. Quickly she zoomed across Metropolis, searching for the source of the disturbance. She found it quickly, a large-scale heist at Metropolis National Bank gone wrong. There were almost three-dozen hostages on the fourth floor, and six half-crazed masked robbers with semi-automatics. Damn.

Stargirl hovered for a moment, strategizing. The hostages were lined up in front of the window, and two of the thugs had them covered, keeping them still. The other four appeared to be huddled in a corner, speaking in anxious whispers. _Now would really be the time to have ears like Powergirl or something_, she mused. _Be nice to hear what they were saying._

She'd have to shield the hostages when she broke through the window. The goons down there were sure to start shooting, not to mention the flying glass. Her dark brown eyes narrowed. Alright. Time to go in. She put on a burst of speed, zooming straight for the window, simultaneously projecting a force field around the 35 hostages. She leveled her head so that the crown of her skull took the full blow of her impact with the glass.

As predicted, the air was full of bullets, which she dodged with precision. Hooking the crooked end of the Cosmic Staff around a light fixture on the ceiling, she swung in a circle, cracking two of the thieves in the face with sharply delivered jabs from her heels. A small smile spread across Courtney's face as the men dropped like stones, lying senseless on the floor.

She unhooked the Staff, dropping catlike to the floor, and straightened up, glancing around quickly. Courtney was about to make her next move when she suddenly felt something pressed into her back. She heard a click. "You capes," hissed a male voice. "Always interfering. Pisses me off."

"In case you hadn't noticed," Courtney said through gritted teeth, "I_ don't_ wear a cape. Now get off me so I can kick your butt!"

"Shut up, bitch!" The barrel of the gun pressed harder against her spine, and Courtney actually felt a thrill of fear. She squeezed her eyes shut as the voice continued in a desperate whisper against her ear. "You might be fast, but I doubt you're bulletproof."

"She's not... but _I_ am!" came a voice from outside the window. Courtney's eyes popped open, and she saw Supergirl floating outside the window. "Oh _shit_," the man behind her muttered.

Supergirl disappeared, becoming nothing but a streak of blue through the room. The hostages disappeared, presumably carried down to street level. Three of the remaining thugs disappeared likewise. All at once, Powergirl was standing next to Courtney; she raised her fist and delivered a sharp jab to her captor's jaw.

The man collapsed, moaning. "Thanks for the save," Courtney said, rubbing the nape of her neck where the gun had been jabbed into her. "Long time, no see Kara!"

Powergirl grinned. "No prob. We were passing by, I heard him threatening you. Figured you could use a hand." Supergirl finally came to a stop beside them.

"I told her you could handle it by yourself," she said contemptuously. "After all, you're a big girl. _Surely_ you can deal with six half-baked burglars." Courtney rolled her eyes. That was _so_ Supergirl. Ignoring the jibes, she turned to Powergirl.

"So, where're you two off to?" she asked. Powergirl shrugged.

"Just around. You know, patrolling a little before we head home." She turned to glance at Supergirl, then back at Courtney. "So, do you want us to give the police the lowdown, or can you handle it?"

Stargirl shrugged. "You guys have places to be, it looks like. I'll deal with the cops." The two Kryptonians nodded, and blurred out in twin streaks of blue and white. Courtney seized the collar of the remaining still-unconscious thief, raised the Cosmic Staff, and leaped out the window. She touched down lightly in front of the nearest police officer.

"Here's the last of them," she said. "I assume Supergirl got all the hostages safely?" The policeman nodded curtly. Stargirl suspected that he was resentful that a trio of girls barely sixteen had bettered him at his job.

--

Courtney stumped up the front steps of the little house in the suburbs of Metropolis. Her stepdad, Pat Dugan, glanced up at her from where he was attempting to prepare a sub-catastrophic meal. "You're late. What happened?" he asked.

She sighed, dumping her backpack into one of the chairs surrounding the kitchen table. "Oh, I figured I'd go on patrol. There was a hostage situation up on First and Blackburn. I got in over my head, got a gun pulled on me." Pat looked at her again.

"You should really tell me when you're doing stuff like that. Your mother wouldn't like it if you got killed and I wasn't even there to help you out. That's what I built the suit for," he said disapprovingly.

"Pat, I'm a big girl," she said, then grimaced. She _hated_ that she had to mimic _anything_ Supergirl had said to make her point. Superman's cousin annoyed the hell out her, with her superior attitude and her stupid innate powers. "Look, I've had a really crazy day. I'm going to try and get a little bit of sleep. Let me know when you manage to get food on the table that won't give us stomach cancer." She touched the Cosmic Converter Belt and took the entire flight of stairs in a single leap.

Pat Dugan watched his stepdaughter take her leave of the kitchen and shook his head. Courtney Whitmore, Stargirl, it didn't matter. She had the heart of a true hero, but sometimes she could be so juvenile. Something had to change.

--

**Chapter Three Featuring: Nightwing and Robin**


	3. The Gotham Boys

****

Richard "Dick" Grayson, adopted son of billionaire Bruce Wayne pushed his shaggy dark hair out of his eyes. He glanced back at Bruce's latest 'charity case adoptee', as the tabloids were calling him. Tim Drake's pleading dark eyes gazed up at him. Dick sighed. The fifteen-year-old Boy Wonder had the innate ability to look as pathetic as a kicked puppy when he wanted something.

The weight room at Metropolis High was deserted except for them. It was seven-thirty at night, and the sky outside the big windows was filled with low, gray clouds. Technically, the school was locked and barred for the night, and they weren't even supposed to be here. But Dick had wanted to work out without Bruce's prying eyes constantly watching him, and he had thought it would be a decent opportunity to show the kid how to pick a lock.

"Please Dick?" Tim begged. "Please, can't I come on patrol with you, just this once? Bruce is all moody lately, he's no fun!"

"When is Bruce not moody?" Dick muttered. "Look, you're Robin now. That's a big responsibility. I'm on my own now, I'm not Bruce's sidekick anymore. I'm my own person. And I'm not looking for my own sidekick just yet. Hell, the papers haven't even picked up on the fact that I exist yet! Look, maybe in a few weeks, huh kid?"

Tim's face fell. He had idolized Robin since he was too young to really understand what he did. And then by some miracle, Bruce Wayne, Batman, had chosen him to be his new sidekick as the original Robin began to come into his own. Bruce had accepted him, more or less. Tim fancied that perhaps the vigilante even considered him a true son, a thought which always brought a rush of pride. But Robin, Dick, whoever he was, seemed almost to resent him. Why? What had he done wrong?

Dick hopped off the treadmill he'd been running on for more than an hour. Tim noticed in admiration that he'd hardly broken a sweat. "C'mon kid. Let's get out of here. You'll be wanted in Gotham. Bats'll be out on patrol in less than half an hour."

They exited the training room, removing all evidence of their presence as they did so. They slipped unnoticed out of the school, and made their way to Wayne Industries building that maintained Bruce's presence in Metropolis. They rode the elevator up to the roof, where a helicopter piloted by Bruce's faithful butler (although that was by far the least of his services) Alfred sat waiting on the helipad. Tim climbed in, leaving the door open for Dick. But he didn't get in.

"Are you coming, sir?" Alfred said in annoyance.

Dick shook his head. "Bats and the kid here can hold down the fort in Gotham tonight. I thought I might see what kind of nightlife Metropolis has to offer." He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans.

"As you wish," Alfred said, though his displeasure was plain on his face. "Shall I return to pick you up, or do you intend to sleep in a Dumpster?"

Dick laughed. "Aw, come on Alfred. You know as well as I do that Bruce isn't going to care if I spend a night or two in Metropolis. Let him know I'll see him in a couple of days. And as for sleeping in a Dumpster... I think I can find more comfortable accommodations than that. Last time I checked, Cassie Sandsmark had an apartment in Metropolis. She'll be willing to let me crash at her place for a day or two. Or if all else fails, I can drop in on a certain bespectacled reporter."

Tim narrowed his eyes in confusion. Bruce had not yet chosen to let him in on the Man of Steel's secret identity. Alfred, on the other hand, knew exactly to whom he was referring. "Master Richard, he just got married. Don't you think he and Ms. Lane deserve a bit of privacy?" he chided.

Dick shrugged, and Alfred shut the door of the helicopter, and adjusted the controls. After a moment, the blades began to rotate, and the helicopter slowly lifted off. Dick stood perfectly still, watching the chopper turned and soared away, the wind from the blades blowing his hair back and causing his loose black jacket to flap madly.

Once the chopper was a discreet distance away, and the security personnel had cleared away, Dick ducked into the control booth just off the landing pad. Sixty-three seconds later, a figure dressed all in black emerged. A mask in the shape of the Bat symbol covered the upper half of his face.

With a quick running start, he launced himself off the roof of the Wayne Industries offices, simultaneously shooting a batarang equipped with a long retractable cord across to the nearest skyscraper. Clutching tightly to the end of the cord, he swung across the city, launching more cords to keep himself aloft as needed. With a grin, Nightwing set off to see what kind of trouble he could get himself into.

--

Her superhearing picked up the sound of a gun being cocked. "Trouble in Metropolis," Linda muttered. "I'd better go deal. Kal's off doing whatever in China..." Fred and Edna Danvers looked despairingly at each other.

"Are you really sure it's something you need to deal with? Surely you should leave some work for the police," Fred pointed out. His adopted daughters might be invulnerable, but that didn't stop him from worrying. And their heroics made it nearly impossible to have a full conversation with either of them.

Linda turned her head, listening. "Nah, the closest cop is twelve blocks away. Not a chance they'll take care of this one. I gotta go in."

And just like that... she was gone. A sonic boom a few seconds later was the only evidence of her departure.

It only took Linda three seconds to fly as far as Metropolis, but the whole way, her hearing was tuned closely to the altercation taking place in the alley just a few blocks north of the Wayne Industries building. "No!" a man's voice said in a desperate gasp. "No, you said you'd pay me! You said you'd pay me if I delivered the item to you by tonight!"

As she arrived above the alley, she paused, assessing the situation. "Oh, but I am," a woman's voice purred. "I'm paying you... in lead slugs. Will six be enough?"

Supergirl launched herself down into the alley behind the tall, exotic-looking woman with an automatic pistol clutched in one hand. The face of the man broke into relief for a moment, then panic, and he gestured furiously at her to leave. She raised her eyebrow as the woman turned to glare at her. "Ah. The little Kryptonian girl," she said in a bitch-please snarl. "Well I've got a present for you, honey."

The woman reached behind her to seize a small box from the hands of the shell-shocked man, and pried it open.

The pain hit her instantly, that green glow of the only thing that could hurt her washing across her body in agonizing waves. With a muffled cry, she dropped out of the air, landing with a heavy thud on the filthy pavement. Her vision blurred as the woman brought the deadly chunk closer. "Hm. One-third of my job done already. And how nice of you to come to me!"

Linda could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness. "No..." she whispered.

"That's enough," said a deep male voice from behind the woman. "Leave her alone!" And suddenly the woman was gone, pulled away from her. The kryptonite rolled away into a distant corner of the alley, and the horrifying pain receeded slightly. As her vision cleared, Linda could see her rescuer nimbly dodge a blow from the woman's fist.

"Ah ah ah!" he said, a laugh in his voice. "You don't want to do that, lady. Might hurt your hand!" Quickly, he delivered a sharp blow to her stomach. She let out her breath in a rushing gasp, and fled, clutching her stomach.

The black-clad man who'd saved her turned to make chase, and Linda also attempted to rise to assist him, but fell back with a groan. "Aw, crap!" he muttered, turning back to her. Seizing her around the waist, he helped her delicately to her feet. "You okay?"

"Not so well. Damn kryptonite--" She gestured to where the glowing meteor lay beside a Dumpster.

The young man nodded. "Can you stand on your own?" he asked. Linda nodded weakly, and he released her long enough to put the kryptonite back in its lead-lined box. "Better?" he asked. She nodded again, feeling strength rush back into her.

"I'll be fine. You're new in town? Haven't seen you before. I'm Supergirl, by the way," she said, smiling flirtatiously. Even in her weakened state, she couldn't help noticing that behind the bat-mask, her saviour was seriously hot. All tall and dark and stuff.

He grinned back. "Well, I'm not exactly new so to speak," he said enigmatically, "But this is my first patrol in Metropolis. I tend to hang in Gotham, more. Call me Nightwing."

"My hero," she said. "Thanks for the save. Normally I handle things a lot better. It's actually been awhile since somebody pulled kryptonite on me."

Nightwing's smile grew wider. "Well, I guess it's lucky I came along, then. Can you make it... wherever you're going... okay, or do you want me to come with you for a ways?"

Linda cocked her hip. "Oh, I think I can manage," she said, winking at him and jerking her chin skyward. She leaned across the gap between them, kissed him on the cheek, and took the box containing the kryptonite out of his hands. "I'd better take this for safekeeping. Thanks again, Nightwing." With a quick leap, she rocketed skyward.

When she was a mile above the city, Supergirl changed tack, veering southwest in the direction of Midvale, flying more slowly than before, due to her weakened condition. A slightly stunned grin spread itself across her face. It had been awhile since she'd had a boyfriend, but this Nightwing... he'd saved her life.

She loop-the-looped through the night sky, smiling happily...

--

Ms. Manaloni stood before her boss, the notorious businessman Lex Luthor. "I'm sorry, sir. I failed. I had Supergirl, I was this close to killing her with that chunk of kryptonite." Her eyes were downcast. She did not dare to look up at the man who controlled every aspect of her life.

The bald CEO raised an eyebrow. "And--?"

"Some punk- from Gotham, by the look of it- took me by surprise. Got the kryptonite out of my hands, beat up on me. I did the only thing I could- I ran," the woman rushed ahead.

Luthor frowned. "I don't like that, Manaloni. I don't like that at all. He was only human, I presume?" The woman nodded, too terrified to speak. "You are well-trained in judo. You should have at least been able to hold your own long enough for the kryptonite to take it's toll. I am disappointed, Manaloni. You will do better next time, or the consequences will be... unpleasant."

Ms. Manaloni nodded. She understood exactly what the corporate mogul was implying. It had happened before, to other less-apt lackeys, and this was far from her first failing. She hurried from the room, unwilling to be in the same room with Luthor for longer than absolutely necessary.

--

Dick perched on the edge of a building, peering out across the city. For ten blocks he'd been trailing the woman who'd attacked Supergirl, but somehow he'd lost her.

Supergirl... meeting her had been interesting. She had to be one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever met. Well sure, he'd known she was pretty- when she had first arrived on Earth a few years back, her picture had been plastered across the cover of every newspaper on the planet. But meeting her face-to-face had driven it home just how gorgeous she really was. Not only that, but she had a certain... spark... to her. That fierce determination he'd seen in her eyes even while she was writhing in kryptonite-induced agony, had fascinated him.

No... no! What was he thinking? He was Nightwing. He had no time for a girlfriend. But then again... she was Supergirl. She knew what the hero's life was like. Maybe... no. No, no way. His last relationship had ended in disaster. He wasn't going through that again. Not after Helena.

--

A Note From Lara: Okay, if you have any suggestions for other characters you'd like to see, submit them in a review. For now I'm marking it as complete, but if I get any really great suggestions, I'll update.


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